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How do I join the AEShareNet licensing system?

What do I do to join?

Applying for Membership of the AEShareNet licensing system is easy. Contact us for an application form. When completed, post or fax your application to our office with your payment.

The costs include: Annual calendar year Membership subscription is $275 for most small to medium sized organisations, $550 for large organisations. Pro rata fees apply for part-year subscriptions.

Note: Subscription fees for Australian public VET providers (TAFE Institutes) are covered through State/Territory level charges. For more information on these organisations please go to our Public Provider contacts page.

Do I have to be a Member to trade?

You do not need to be a Member or an Associate member to use or obtain any of our free or Instant Licences. Instant Licences can be used by anyone and licensed by anyone. To use an Instant Licence for your material, you simply download either a FfE, U, S or P graphic mark from the AEShareNet website and apply it to your material. An Instant Licence becomes valid when the licensee legitimately obtains copy of the material bearing the licence mark.

You will need to become a Member if you want to transact any of the Mediated Licences or you would like to list any of your materials on the AEShareNet website. To find out more click here.

Who can join?

The AEShareNet licensing system is Membership based. It was originally set up to meet the needs of the Australian vocational education and training sector but any individual or organisation anywhere in the world may apply to join. By doing so, you agree to abide by the AEShareNet Charter.

Benefits of Membership include:

List your resources in the catalogue so they can be easily found via web searching
Receive a nationally recognised database application for cataloguing your existing or prospective resources
License your products using Mediated (Commercial) Licences for additional revenue or adding special conditions
Access resources from other organisations, many of which are available at little or no charge and may be adapted for your own use.
No need to pay for licences upfront, fees incurred will be totalled up for payment quarterly.
Pay reduced transaction fees (compared with being an Associate) and reduce your administration costs by consolidating all your licensing activities under a system specially designed to meet training sector needs.

What do you do and why would I join?

We connect people who are looking for learning materials with those who own them, and automate the negotiation and licensing process - see what we do.

We provide a range of services to the educational communities. Firstly, we have a large database of learning materials which anyone can search. It is also part of the Charter of the Company to provide a range of information relevant to copyright and these are also freely available on our website.

As part of the AEShareNet system, we provide a facility to trade materials through online licensing - see Licensing Overview. The trading facility requires that you become a Member, or complete an online Associate registration. The sharing facility through Instant Licences does not require membership.

Am I already covered by an existing Member?

If you are from an organisation that is already a Member, you should preferably trade under the existing Membership.

If you are in an Australian public VET provider (TAFE Institute) you can check Public Provider contacts for details of who to contact.

For other organisations, check the Members List to see if your organisation has already joined. If so then contact your "Member Manager" to find out about gaining access.

Are there any other costs?

Only materials offered under the AEShareNet-C and AEShareNet-E, Licences attract any fees. The other licence categories are Instant Licences and do not attract fees.

An owner may set a charge for use of their material (a Licence Fee) and we remit this money back to licensors. We charge transaction fees and commission fees as follows.

When taking out a Mediated Licence (AEShareNet-C or AEShareNet-E), a transaction charge, calculated on a sliding scale, applies for AEShareNet members and associates. (For Associates this charge will be higher).
For Members:
Licence fees < $100, transaction fee = $5.
Licence fees > $100, transaction fee = $10.
For Associates:
Licence fees < $100, transaction fee = $10.
Licence fees > $100 and < $300, transaction fees = $25
Licence fees > $300, transaction fees = $50
Where an owner levies a Licence Fee, the Company charges the owner a 10% commission.